FootyWanderer84

I start writing this blog while parked up at Edinburgh Airport before my flight to Munich, as I have some time to kill. I need to get out of the old mindset of having to be at the airport no later than 3hrs before your flight, especially as I’m travelling with only a small backpack. An extra 90 minutes in bed would have been wonderful, however leaving later always makes me unreasonably paranoid! Irritating though is the fact I’ve been unable to check in online for my KLM flight, so I sit here at 3am waiting for check in to open at 03:50, so I returned to my car in the multi storey as its much preferable to finding a space to sit on the floor in the terminal.

But, my trip to Munich is for game number 4 of the month, and 19 of the year. So a quick recap on the 3 games I’ve watched this weekend, starting at Ibrox. Nothing unfamiliar about this one, as standard for weekend games I woke after nightshift without enough sleep and got ready to head out to the game, making sure I was ready to go straight to work from the game. Parked up as usual in The Albion car park, I headed along for a quick look in the club shop before heading into the fanzone, glad to be out of the wind. I waited here and met David when he arrived with his lad, and we caught up while some of the players came on stage to chat with Ali Defoy.

Time to head into the ground, this time I’ve lined up some exercise as my ticket is for row EE in the Copland Rear, very back row! Long climb, but a great view, and one I’d be delighted with if I get a Season Ticket up there. I got to watch a comfortable and dominant performance from Rangers, who ran out 3-0 winners over a very poor Livingston side, who were there for no more than damage limitation. David Martindale’s miracles on a shoestring may just not be enough this season. Time to head to work once the game was over, I made a brief stop at one of the vans for a burger and a drink, and it was time to join the queue to leave the car park and get onto the motorway. Crawling speed is frustrating, but probably the only safe speed to do on this absolute disgrace of a road surface though. But alas, I made it to work and had a 12hr shift to enjoy before Sundays games!

Pushing myself to get up early enough to see 2 games on Sunday, it was still the most sleep I’d had in recent Sundays, after trips to Sunderland and Aberdeen the previous weeks. I’d initially thought about going up to East Fife again, to watch the women’s Scottish Cup tie with Hearts, hoping to see Megan Bell play where she is on loan from Rangers (it completely missed my attention that she would be cup tied and wouldn’t have been playing though!) But I’d decided against that as I would be heading in to Broadwood early to register for media access at the game, so a trip back from Fife was pushing it for time. As proved by Graeme and Greig who did go to both games with Greig’s girls, as they arrived at Broadwood a little before kick off. Instead of Fife though, I chose to head for familiar territory in Petershill Park to see Glasgow City take on Hibs in the same competition, and I was treated to an entertaining and finely balanced match. Too finely balanced though when I was aiming to be at Broadwood before 3pm, as it left me doing something I do my level best not to do, and leave before the game is over. Shortly into extra time I made my way back to the car for the simple drive out to Broadwood, where I parked up and checked the updates on Twitter (already mentioned in my blogs that it is still Twitter to me) and saw that I’d missed no further goals, but did miss a penalty shoot out, as serial Scottish Cup winners Hibs came out on top. No more than they deserved from the 95 minutes I was there to watch.

Next up was match number 18, 3rd match of February, and again it was with the privilege of doing media duties for our podcast (search RFCWSG wherever you listen to your podcasts) and this time I was joined by Laura, who was joining me for the post match interviews for the pod. Getting to walk through the main entrance and out through the tunnel is a class experience, this now the 3rd time I’ve had the pleasure of doing these new media duties for our pod. Up into the stands we went, and we had a full compliment there to watch the game together, as Kar, Graeme and Grant were there in our usual spot in section 3. We were treated to plenty of goals, a pre match presentation of a commemorative shirt to Chelsea Cornet, latest member of the 100 club, and the return of fan favourite Lisa Martinez, who made her return after around 9 months out with a dreaded ACL injury. (An injury much talked about in the women’s game, but hopefully this recovery time, similar to Leah Williamsons recent return to WSL action, shows signs of an improvement in the recovery from these injuries.) I was regretting leaving a scarf and gloves in the car though, the recent high winds were again making for unpleasant conditions. But the game ended, and we had the chance to head down to trackside and speak to dome of the players as we waited to interview manager Jo Potter. Testing out the new mics that had been purchased for this, we enjoyed our chat and before we left we also got to interview young star Eilidh Austin after her first start for the club. Then it was time to head home and prepare for the pod. My preparation centred around stopping at the chippy on the way home and then wrapping up in a blanket to heat up!! Pod done and some last minute prep for the mornings trip to Munich and then before I know it, I’ve maybe only 2.5hrs before my alarm goes off at 01:30!

As mentioned at the top of the blog, it was frustrating not to have checked in online, though it should be straightforward. Unlike my previous 2 trips to Munich, I’d have to change at Schipol, but should still be in Munich for 11:30 local time, so should be plenty comfortable to get to the hotel and have a bit of down time before getting to the Campus for the game. Typically for me, I’d been repeatedly changing my mind on what to wear for travelling, and for once ended up opting for a tracksuit for comfort. Means grabbing a small bag to carry around as no zips on the pockets make me paranoid of losing things, but will be comfortable for the short trip. Only once I’d parked up at the airport did I realise why this maybe wasn’t the best choice, when I’m back the next day I’ll be going straight to Ibrox, and then straight to work. At least, that was my plan, but I’ll just have to add an extra half hour on to how late I’ll be for work. Shame. It wasn’t deliberate! Driving out to the airport, the wind was high, and I saw signs that the Queensferry crossing was closed to double decker buses. Doubly fortunate for me, as I was neither planning to cross this bridge, nor was I driving a double decker bus…. I’ve written this far now, and it’s time for the check in to open, so im heading out of the car and back to the airport to hopefully get checked in and through security with no dramas. I think I’m well prepared this time!

Even better prepared than I thought! Having paid for terminal parking, I hadn’t really thought about it including fast track security, so once I’d checked in with no issue, I was through the busyish security hall in under 2 minutes, brilliant! Now having a quick Wetherspoons breakfast while I relax before the flight! I was good though, only ordered a small breakfast and not a large one! Small food note, anyone who has had the misfortune of factoring in what I eat into plans for where to eat or what to make will know that I’m incredibly fussy with food and don’t like many common foods. But to make it worse, while I eat bacon and its ok, is there a food that is more disappointing than bacon? It looks good, it smells good, it’s great to cook, but taste is just meh. So there is my unpopular opinion for this blog!

Flight number 1 of the day was straightforward and on time, a short first leg of my journey saw me land at Schipol and start to navigate this behemoth of an airport. About half an hour or so after getting off the plane, I’d made it through security and found my way to the gate. On the way though, I’d suffered disappointment. Having arrived at one of the D gates and seeing just how high the numbers went, and knowing I was heading for gate B31, I was looking for a photo opportunity at gate B52, just so I could post a witty comment about Love Shacks. Sadly, the highest number in this wing is 36, and the joke was lost to my own amusement! The bonus though, I’d avoided having issues with my ears that I had flying to and from London a couple of weeks back, and no dizziness. Hopefully a sign that those effects were consigned solely to that trip and won’t be repeated. For the 2nd leg of the morning trip to Munich, at least I was allocated an aisle seat, though in truth, there was no issue with the middle seat on leg 1. The biggest annoyance I found in my short stop in Schipol was the absence of any sign of 4 or 5g network coverage, which annoyed me while I tried to catch up on some messages and posts while I had some time. However, I wasn’t there for long, as we boarded and looked set to depart on time. Stepping on to the flight, I saw that it was the same flight crew who had manned the flight from Edinburgh, so knew we were in good hands. Unfortunately there was a slight delay, as catering had not been restocked on this flight. However, as I’d already been on a flight with this crew this morning, judging on how the pilot moved the plane around the airport I knew he would be in a rush to make up for any lost time, and having a tail wind he informed the flight should only take 1hr. No further issues on the flight, some extra leg room with nobody in the middle seat was a bonus, and we made it into Munich in good time. Having already cleared passport control in Amsterdam, it was straight through and out at Munich.

With this being my 3rd visit in recent months, I was comfortable on finding my way about, and knew how to get tickets for the Munich transport. Frustratingly, the app would not load that I’d used previously, but with an abundance of ticket machines, it took a couple of minutes to navigate to find the day pass and I was good to go. Worth noting that I’ve now spent about 10 days in Munich in recent months and not once had my ticket checked on the public transport, jury is out whether its a good conscience or fear of the €60 fine for not having a valid ticket thay keeps me honest and buying tickets… Before leaving the airport, I had a quick bite to eat in the main square between the 2 terminals, which is dominated by a large tented roof and the impressive Audi Conference Centre, which is up there with one of my favourite airport settings. Getting to the hotel meant one or 2 changes, but was straightforward, and checking in an hour early was no issue. This time I’d picked one of the Ibis hotels, so knew what to expect and I wasn’t disappointed, a good sized room, clean and also quiet. So I chilled for a bit and put my head down, though couldn’t really fall asleep for fear of missing an alarm and missing the game. It would be a long way to go just for a good sleep!

On the way out to the hotel, I’d stopped off in Central Munich and re-familiarized myself with where I’d got the shuttle bus put on by Bayern to the Campus when I was over in November for the top of the table clash with Wolfsburg. Karlsplatz, Stachus. Happy with that and knowing how to get back there, I’d looked into it no further. That is until I got back there half an hour before the shuttle bus was due to pick up and with nobody waiting, realisation set in, it must be picking up from somewhere else! Unfortunately, this somewhere else was Studentstat, which was about 600 yards from my hotel, which I wouldn’t get back to in time for the first bus! Very much encouraging a shake of the head! But as I’ve said, transport in Munich is wonderful, so I quickly checked where I needed to go, made the changes and got to a final bus stop where I saw a number of Bayern tops and scarves and I knew I wouldn’t go wrong from here.

Getting off the bus at a stop decorated like a dugout, complete with stadium seats (pictures posted on my Instagram, which shares the name of this blog) it was now time to head into the impressive Bayern Campus. This is an unreal facility, containing a small and modern stadium where the women’s team play along with various youth sides. The most direct comparison I can think of in the UK would be Man City’s impressive set up. Making my way in, I found my seat, which I’d picked as front row to display the flag I had made up before the first trip to Munich in October. Except I’d forgotten to pack tape, as the ties were no good with nothing to fix them to on the concrete. So I held the flag up through the warm up, then asked some nearby fans who had flags taped to the wall for some tape, and they kindly helped out. Now, to explain the flag will help explain why I’ve dived in to a fondness for both Bayern the club and Munich the city.

Last season was when I began to attend women’s football matches, and I got very attached to it quickly, while I was also going to many new places for any football that I could watch at multiple levels. Towards the end of last season, I’d been talking with the friends I’d made at the games about going abroad if we got into Europe. However, the season fell at the death and Rangers women failed to qualify for Europe, so that plan was out. 1 week later though, at the Scottish Cup final, after a final loss to end the season with bitter disappointment, it was revealed that fan favourite Sam Kerr was leaving, not for the WSL as expected, but for Germany and Bayern Munich. Wow! This was an incredible move, and instantly the wheels were turning with thoughts of going to Germany hoping to see her play. It took a while to get organised, but with the season starting later in Germany all 4 of us made it to an early game, albeit separate games, as its not easy to plan a trip like that where everyone can get the time to go. As mentioned, we had a flag made up for Sam to display when we went, and when I first went to Munich in October with Graeme, I was blown away, the place is just incredible. As I already mentioned, the airport is a thing of beauty, and that was the first real sight of anything in Munich, and despite some typical mishaps in finding your way around a new city, I knew I’d have to go back. As for the club, since the news of Sam’s move broke, I’d been doing a lot of reading up on a club I already knew a fair bit about from afar. I do love big clubs, dominant clubs. Not as a glory hunter, but I love the intensity of HAVING to win, not the ‘it would be nice to win but if we don’t then we tried’ you maybe find at most clubs. The more I learned, the more I was hooked. I knew very quickly that experiencing it once was never going to be enough, I had to experience far more German football, which I’d admired as a casual viewer for a long time.

Back to the game, and it was nice that Sam saw I was there during the warm up, and I sat and enjoyed a comfortable Bayern performance, which was only frustrating as it could have been more had they perhaps put their foot down more. But watching this team had offered me more examples of truly appreciating what a player does far more when you see them live than when you see them on TV, Georgia Stanway being a prime example. This was the 3rd time I’d seen Bayern Fraeun play, and it was 3rd time lucky to see Sam make it onto the pitch, as she came on eith half an hour to go. The dominance of Bayern continued as they ran out 4-0 winners, and it was great to see Sam look like she belonged with this level of players. When the players did a lap of the park post match to applaud the fans, she waved over and seemed to read the flag properly so I hope she likes it! On leaving the stadium, I waited with many fans where the players cross over to head into the dressing rooms, which are in the building across the road from the actual stadium. While I’m fortunate to talk to the players after the Rangers women games, im not one for asking for selfies with players, but I actually did this time. Proof is there that I’m nowhere near the best at taking them, but I now have pictures with Pernille Harder, Klara Buhl and Guilia Gwinn, all international stars, so quite pleased with that!

On leaving the Campus, I’d hung around too long and missed the shuttle buses that would have taken me almost to the door of my hotel, so I started walking the 6.5km trek back to the hotel. It was a nice calm night, though it was getting chilly. Couldn’t grumble at that, as it had been lovely and sunny all day, without ever being warm. About halfway back, I caught a bus, and then after 2 subway changes I was back at the subway stop a few yards from the Ibis and it was time to get to bed. It had been a very long day, but it could hardly have been any better, the time away had been so chilled, but lack of sleep is definitely catching up on me, and I knew I was in for a long day Tuesday into Wednesday. Thankfully, the bed was probably the most comfortable hotel bed I’ve had in some time, one of the reasons I like having a chance to pick an Ibis hotel to stay in. Despite a good sleep, I woke early and feeling shattered, but while I tried, there was no more sleep to be had. So up and showered, I checked out and headed for a short subway trip out to the Allianz Stadium as I had enough time to kill. A walk around and a new top picked up for Fridays 7s, it was back to get the subway into the city centre to get the S-Bahn out to the airport, not before another McDonald’s at Munich Central though, because that’s just what I do. It’s bad that I’m in there enough to recognise staff in a McDonald’s in Munich! Train out to the airport was simple and relaxing, and then it was time to browse a couple of shops and then head through security. As seems more common these days, my bag was picked for a random test for explosives, but was quickly cleared. It’s a bit of a trek from security to get to Passport control, even further now having a non EU passport, but through there after witnessing a family disagreement over who had their daughters passport, it was time to chill. I’d been swaying on re-visiting the Manchesterplatz site, given the poignant date, however was worried that this would have left me a bit more stretched to make it through with time to spare. On reflection, had I planned for it in advance, that would have been the right thing to do, though it is a little bit of a trek.

What makes Munich Airport so impressive at the central plaza is balanced by the blandness and lack of interest within the departure lounge, with some shops and seating areas, but not really much to do, so it was time to watch some YouTube videos and catch up with some podcasts.

Boarding the EasyJet flight was left late, but the flight departed close to planned time, was looking at a flight time of around 2 and a quarter hours. All being well, it looked like it may be 6pm to get back to my car. No way would it be a good idea to stop at home on the way to Ibrox. Good news though was another flight had passed without any issues with my ears, and minimal attempts needed to try to ward off any issues during the flight. London increasingly looking like a fluke thankfully. I’ll see how I cope with Milan in a few weeks.

Off to the match I went, though it was slow going, taking me a full 90 minutes from Edinburgh Airport to The Albion car park at Ibrox. Getting to the entrance, after a chat with the stewards manning the gates, I got parked up at no cost and I could get parked and wrapped up for the game. Across the road I went, and walked along Edminston Drive to the entrance for the East Enclosure. Been a while since I sat in here, but it was a great seat, not too far behind the home dugouts. The game itself had so much riding on it, the atmosphere was as good as I’ve seen it in a long time, and Rangers took an early lead. Despite controlling the game, they didn’t add to it and suddenly went in level at the break. I noticed none of the subs put during HT, hopefully the manager was reminding every single one of them what was at stake! A tense second half ensued, as 1 more goal in the game sent the place bonkers! We had done it, we had passed this test and could now go on to the next one. Time to get out and get to work!

Trouble was, it took an age to get on the motorway, so I was a little over an hour late, but no issues were caused. There will be 1 more game this midweek, as Rangers women host Hearts (unless this snow actually gets much worse). But a trip to Broadwood won’t take up much blog space, so I’ll end this blog here as I’ve rambled on enough with this one!

If you have read this far, thank you, and we will chat soon.